How to use Excel startup folders in Excel for Mac

Summary

The actual startup folder locations can vary depending on what version of Excel you are using. For more details about Excel startup locations, see the "More Information" section.

More Information

Folders that Excel uses at startup

If you install Excel to the default location, Excel opens files from the following paths. In these paths, hard disk is the name of your hard disk drive.

Microsoft Excel 2016 for Mac

There is no default startup directory for Excel 2016 for Mac. To set a startup folder, see References section for alternative startup file location.

Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac

hard disk/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Startup/Excel

Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac

hard disk/Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Startup/Excel

Microsoft Excel X for Mac

hard disk/Applications/Microsoft Office X/Office/Startup/Excel

Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac

hard disk/Microsoft Office 2001/Office/Startup/Excel

Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

hard disk/Microsoft Office 98/Office/Startup/Excel

The folder that is specified in the Alternate startup file location box. In Excel X for Mac and in later versions, click Preferences on the Excel menu, and then click the General tab in the Preferences dialog box to see the Alternate startup file location box. In Excel 98 for Mac and in Excel 2001 for Mac, click Preferences on the Tools menu, and then click the General tab in the Options dialog box to see the Alternate startup file location box.

Accepted file types during Excel startup

You typically use startup folders to load Excel templates and add-ins, but you can also use them to load workbooks. When you load these three types of files from a startup folder, they have the following important characteristics.

Templates

Templates that you put in a startup folder are not loaded when you start Excel. However, in Excel 98 for Mac and in Excel 2001 for Mac, you can use the templates by clicking New on the File menu.

If you save a template named Workbook and put it in a startup folder location, that workbook becomes the default workbook when you start Excel and when you open any additional new workbooks. When you save a template named Workbook to put in a startup folder location, remove the .xlt file name extension.

If you save a template named Sheet and put it in a startup folder location, that workbook becomes the default worksheet when you insert a new worksheet in a workbook by clicking Worksheet on the Insert menu. When you save a template named Sheet to put in a startup folder location, remove the .xlt file name extension.

Note If you have multiple worksheets in the workbook template named Sheet, insert that same number of worksheets when you click Worksheet on the Insert menu. It is generally best to save a one-sheet workbook as the Sheet template.

In Excel X for Mac and in later versions, to use any additional custom templates that you create, you must put them in the following folder:

Applications/Microsoft Office version/Templates/My Templates

Then, to use the templates, click Project Gallery on the File menu, and then click the My Templates group.

Add-Ins

Add-Ins that you put in a startup folder do not typically appear when you start Excel, but are loaded into memory and run any auto macros.

You can then use these Add-Ins by whatever method the add-in provides (that is, a menu item or toolbar button).

Workbooks

Workbooks that you put in a startup folder are loaded and appear when you start Excel, unless the workbook is saved in a hidden state. For example, the Personal Macro Workbook is a global macro workbook that Excel typically loads from the hard disk/Microsoft Office 98/Office/Startup/Excel folder in a hidden state.

Incorrect use of the alternate startup file location

When using the alternate startup file location, it is important to specify a file path in which there are recognizable file types (such as templates, add-ins, and workbooks).

If Excel finds unrecognizable file types in a startup folder, you may receive an error message. The most common error message is:

This file is not a recognizable format.

Using the default file location

In addition to the alternate startup file location, the Default file location setting is also on the General tab in the Options dialog box in Excel 98 for Mac and in Excel 2001 for Mac, or on the General tab in the Preferences dialog box in later versions of Excel for Mac. This setting is different from a startup folder; it sets the folder location that you want Excel to point to when you open or save a file by using the File menu.

References

Excel X for Mac and later versions

For more information about startup folders, click Excel Help on the Help menu, type startup folders, click Search, and then click a topic to view it.

Excel 2001 for Mac

For more information about startup folders, click the Office Assistant, type startup folders, click Search, and then click a topic to view it.

Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

For more information about startup folders, follow these steps:

On the Help menu, click Contents and Index. If you are using a version of the Macintosh operating system that is earlier than 8.0, click Contents and Index on the Balloon Help menu.

In Excel Help, click Index, and then type the following text:

startup folders

Click Show Topics. Click the Control what happens when you start Microsoft Excel topic, and then click Go To.

If you cannot find the information that you want, ask the Office Assistant.